Smallholder Forestry Research Articles

Community Involvement and the Use of Coffee Exocarp as a Growth Medium for Cajuput Plantation in Post-Mining Land Reclamation in PT Bukit Asam Tbk (PTBA)

The cajuput plant (Melaleuca cajuputi) is valued for its essential oil production and its ability to thrive in challenging environments, including post-mining lands. PT Bukit Asam Tbk (PTBA) has cultivated this plant extensively to supply seeds for reclamation projects on former mine sites, along with the provision of location-specific fertilizers. This study aims to identify the new alternative organic materials, determining the optimal formula for plant growth media and also to measure the tangible and intangible impacts of the community involvement. Following the implementation of statistical testing involving the analysis of variance model (ANOVA) and subsequent test, which is the least significant difference (LSD) test, definitive findings reveal that incorporating coffee exocarp as a growth medium significantly impacts the elevation of plant height and the augmentation of Cajuput leaf count. The most efficacious treatment is delineated as P2, characterized by a 1:1 composition of coffee exocarp and soil. The involvement of the local community has precipitated several advantageous outcomes, encompassing the creation of employment opportunities, the facilitation of economic equilibrium, and the development of smallholder forestry enterprises within the local community.

Challenges to smallholder forestry policy reform on a postindustrial logging frontier: lessons from the Amazon estuary

In 2013, policy makers from the Brazilian State of Amapá launched regulatory reforms intended to streamline options to formalize smallholder forest management. This paper reviews that policy reform process and analyses observations from local stakeholders to identify lessons for the promotion of smallholder forestry. In 2014, 2017 and 2021, interviews were conducted with family timber producers and sawmill operators in floodplain communities and regional timber buyers to evaluate the impact of the policy reform on their operations. Interviews with policy makers sought to understand the rationale behind the reform and how the process played out. Although the r eform efforts were well intentioned, results illustrate how bureaucratic inertia and complexity obstructed efforts to simplify policy and how policy did not address smallholder needs. While the reforms did not have the intended effect, the case offers lessons for future policy reform efforts.

How financially viable is smallholder forestry? A case study with a high-value tropical forestry species

This paper evaluates the financial performance and risk of high-value tropical forestry under the challenges faced by smallholders, using Vanuatu sandalwood as a case study. We developed a financial model to predict returns from smallholder-based sandalwood plantations. The model was used to investigate the following issues typically faced by smallholders: (i) what is the financial impact of smallholders harvesting trees at young ages because of fear of theft or cyclone damage? (ii) how does the opportunity cost of labour impact on the financial returns of sandalwood? and (iii) what are the current opportunities for smallholders to finance the establishment of sandalwood plantations and how might these be improved? Data were collected from expert interviews and relevant literature. We found that smallholder sandalwood can be a profitable investment, but tree security issues and environmental risks are leading to early harvest and an associated 64% reduction in potential returns. To improve the profitability and attractiveness of sandalwood plantations to smallholders, the following key issues must be addressed: (i) risks associated with tree theft need to be dramatically reduced; (ii) earlier returns from planting systems must be planned for smallholders with more immediate needs; and (iii) greater access to financial services is needed, including loans with competitive borrowing rates, particularly to increase the scale of planting for individual smallholders that might be constrained by labour. Theft mitigation can include fencing, patrolling, microchip tagging, all of which add significant maintenance cost. Formalised social and governance structures within and between villages, may be more cost-effective in improving tree security. Incorporating agricultural crops into systems helps produce earlier financial returns, and more rapid payback. Accessible loans can allow for upscaling of smallholder systems that are limited to household labour for plantation management, harvesting, and processing the logs.

Beyond the ‘Field of Dreams’ model in smallholder forestry: Building viable timber value chains for smallholder tree growers in developing countries

Many smallholder tree growers in developing countries and those advising them, hold a view that if they plant trees a market will materialize when the time is right. However, despite strong international demand for timber and potential for smallholders to supply this demand, this ‘Field of Dreams’ approach, i.e. if you grow it, buyers will come, is not generally a sound strategy. In this study, we aimed to identify the conditions that enable the development of viable timber value chains around smallholder tree growers in developing countries. We reviewed literature on the integration of small-scale producers into value chains, smallholder tree growing, and smallholder commercial forestry to identify conditions, and used four case studies in the Asia-Pacific Region to understand how these influence outcomes for smallholder tree growers in different settings. This analysis provided a basis for recommendations for policymakers and advising agencies on how to support timber value chains for smallholder tree growers. These included deeper understanding of biophysical suitability of locations for tree growing, smallholder capabilities and interests, and provision of clear land tenure, infrastructure, and streamlined regulations sympathetic to smallscale timber operations. Tree growing can generate financial value for smallholders in regions with high human population density, quality road networks and proximity to processing markets and ports. Careful policy design is required to make it ‘fit for purpose’ at local levels, as conditions vary widely even within a single country. This can identify catalytic interventions and work with existing or near-term market drivers and simplified regulations in the value chain to generate benefits for smallholders.

Financing smallholder tree planting: Tree collateral & Thai ‘Tree Banks’ - Collateral 2.0?

Smallholder foresters are amongst the key stakeholders for sustainable development and productive land use. In Thailand they face various challenges including insufficient tenure, burdensome commercialization, and limited access to markets. Similarly, forestry specific financial services are often unavailable. Key obstacles include cash flow constraints attributed to the long gestation periods and a lack of conventional collateral to obtain loans. As a response to the lack of sustainable financing mechanisms for forest smallholders, tree collateral and Tree Banks emerged in Thailand. This paper depicts the evolution of the innovative Thai tree collateral approaches and conceptualizes their intricacies. Tree collateral refers to the use of trees as a business security for loans. Thailand’s innovative national Tree Bank systems provide the context for this case study. Based on expert interviews (n = 39) and subsequent secondary literature review as well as process tracing, the article explores potentials and shortcomings of the tree collateral approaches in Thailand. There are significant conceptual and ideological differences between the two Tree Bank institutions, namely the Tree Bank BAAC (Bank of Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives) and Tree Bank CSO (Civil Society Organization). These differences focus on the need to include private land together with trees as collateral. In addition, core constraints remain for tree collateral such as limited tenure and valuation procedures and high gearing ratios. The discussion of risks reveals mainly socio-economic and financial risks for smallholders and financing institutions. Standardization procedures and mitigation strategies including micro-insurances are indispensable. The process tracing revealed causal mechanisms that lead to tree collateral, including aggregation amongst smallholders as well as specific enabling policy reforms. Tree collateral represents an innovative and promising tool but is not the ‘silver bullet’ that magically solves the financial challenges of smallholders. Rather it is niche-specific and requires a series of broader prerequisites for successful and low-risk implementation especially in the context of smallholder forestry.

Risk preferences significantly affect household investment in timber forestry: Empirical evidence from Fujian, China

Implementing another round of massive collective forest tenure reform in China since in 2008 has not materialized the government's expectation on small-scale timber forestry–improved management practices and resource quality. One underlying cause to this outcome is farmer's risk-averse attitude, which has thus far garnered little research attention. In this study, we combine the prospect theory and a lottery experiment to measure individual risk preferences on timber forestry investment. Based on a sample of 303 households conducted in 2018 in Fujian, China, we find that the ‘household risk preference’ parameter has a significant negative impact on both the decision to invest in timber forestry and the intensity of investment. Further, the ‘loss aversion’ and ‘probability weighting’ parameters affect household investment intensity negatively. These results indicate that the more risk averse rural households are, the less willing they are to invest in timber forestry, and the lower their investment intensities are. Also, the effect of the risk preferences on cash outlay is larger than on labor cost. These insights have direct implications for better designing tenure reform and other policies to promote smallholder forestry in China and beyond.

Drivers of Smallholder Plantation Forestry in the Tano North District of Ghana

Adoption of smallholder plantations in off-forest reserve among farmers has always been a challenge. Using the qualitative methods and survey among 193 smallholder plantations farmers through simple random sampling from six communities in the Tano North District, the study aimed at exploring the drivers for smallholder plantation forestry in the Tano North District of the Brong-Ahafo Forest Region of Ghana. The findings showed that as age of farmers increased, the number of plantations owned reduced. Surprisingly, all the plantations owned by farmers were teak. In addition, a significant relationship between gender of farmers and factors that motivated them to establish smallholder plantations was identified. Furthermore, the relationship between gender and land tenure systems was significant. The study identified low price for teak wood, absence of standard price for teak wood, decline in food crop yield due to canopy closure of teak stands, lack of capital to invest in teak plantation, lack of extension services from Forest Services Division and wildfire as the factors that militate against smallholder plantation forestry. The motivating factors for smallholder plantation forestry were financial returns, plantation as collateral to secure loans, hobby and construction material for subsistence use. The identified drivers if taken into account during the implementation of smallholder forestry could enhance its viability and adoption. Keywords: gender, land tenure, land size, age, militating factors, relationship DOI: 10.7176/JNSR/10-6-04 Publication date: March 31 st 2020

Smallholder Forestry in the FSC System: A Review

Since its inception in 1993, the Forest Stewardship Council certification scheme to assess the quality of responsible forest stewardship has aimed to certify both industrial-scale and smallholder forests. This article considers variations in FSC smallholder certification: single or group; Small and Low Intensity Managed Forests (SLIMF); and both company- and community-managed community forests in Global North and South countries. The classification of smallholders, as “subsistence surplus” or “sell-to-survive,” as proposed by the political ecologist Jason Moore, is also applied. Global North smallholders account for two-thirds of smallholder certified area and, in general, are able to meet the costs of FSC certification because of the demand for certified timber, their better socio-economic circumstances, a greater degree of group organization, and, in some cases, access to state subsidies. They are also more likely to be price-makers. Global South forests both house more of the planet’s remaining biodiversity and are more vulnerable to degradation. Economic and social realities dictate that global South smallholders are largely constrained by having to sell their timber to survive and fall in the price-takers category. In the absence of subsidies, price premiums, or a secure value chain, they are unable to afford renewal of FSC certification. The article concludes with an assessment of some realistic options for smallholder forestry certification.

Megatrends affecting smallholder forestry in Indonesia to the year 2030

This paper identifies and explores megatrends with major implications for smallholder-based commercial forestry in Indonesia to the year 2030. A megatrend is a cluster of trends that represent a significant shift in the condition of the environment, economy or society, with major implications over the longer term. Megatrend analysis is one example of foresighting, an approach which complements traditional forestry sector outlook studies. The eight megatrends explore the dynamics of Indonesia's urbanising population; their rising incomes and education rates, manifest in an expanding middle class and changing demands; the imperative to provide for the needs of the still-many poor; the tension between market-based opportunities and the Indonesian bureaucracy, inadequate physical infrastructure and vested interests; Indonesia's place as a global hotspot of forest and biodiversity loss; the consequences of climate change; the emerging digital and technology-driven economy and society; and the possible impacts of both natural and man-made crises. These megatrends and their component subtrends have various implications for smallholder forestry; we identify best, worst and more likely case scenarios as starting points for further research.

Smallholder forestry: the role of commercial forestry in rural livelihoods in Indonesia

Although Indonesia has various policy initiatives designed to encourage smallholder forestry, it has not yet achieved its potential. Aggregated national-level data can often mask the variability in household income, making it difficult to tailor national policies to be effective for rural development. This article discusses results from a household survey, with data collected in 2013 and 2017 from a sample of 240 households in eight villages of three provinces in Indonesia: Central Java, South Sulawesi and Yogyakarta. The results indicate farmers across a wide wealth spectrum utilise forestry as an integral component of their farming systems, and that trees provide scope to offset declines in income from other sources. Local economies were found to be dynamic and volatile, with smallholders relying on planted forests to support their livelihoods. Survey results also revealed that most households derived the majority of income from non-farm sources, indicating a diverse rural economy operates across much of Indonesia.

Persepsi Petani terhadap Ketersediaan Sarana dan Prasarana Usahatani di Subak Babakan Bengkel I Desa Getasan Kecamatan Petang Kabupaten Badung

Perception Farmers Against Availability Infrastructures in Subak BabakanBengkel I Village Getasan Sub District Petang Badung.
 Agriculture in a broad sense includes smallholder agriculture, plantation, forestry,animal husbandry and fishery. Facilities and infrastructure are all things that are used asa tool in achieving the objectives of farmers in Subak Babakan Bengkel I VillageGetasan to support developments in running the farm. Based on this expected that thedevelopments in the availability of facilities and infrastructure in the farming. Based onthe above problems, the purpose of this study was to determine the perception offarmers on the availability of facilities and infrastructure of farming in Subak BabakanBengkel I Village Getasan Sub District Petang Badung. To prepare a good questionnairerequired some testing prior to conducting the study. Testing the questionnaire usingSPSS. The variable in this study is the perception of farmers on the availability offacilities and infrastructure of farming in Subak Babakan Bengkel I Village Getasan SubDistrict Petang Badung. Indicators of this study include the availability of means ofproduction, namely seeds, fertilizers, pesticides, plant growth regulator and inoculant.Alsintan (agricultural machinery), ie sprayer, power weeder, emposan tikus, reaper,tractors and power threaser. Network infrastructure includes farm roads, halls Subak,and irrigation canals. To maintain and increase the availability of facilities andinfrastructure in Subak Babakan Bengkel I of both categories should be excellentfarmers complementary facilities and infrastructure that can greatly help in a timeefficient and agricultural work in Subak

Community Forestry and the Sustainable Development Goals: A Two Way Street

This paper analyses the contributions of community and smallholder forestry (CSF) to achieving the sustainable development goals (SDGs). A CSF-SDG positive feedback model is proposed; a model that holds that successful CSF positively contributes to 13 SDGs and 31 SDG targets. Recent CSF meta-studies have scrutinized factors leading to CSF success and found some 10 factors and conditions that contribute to that objective. If efforts towards reaching the SDGs support or enhance these factors leading to the greater success of CSF, this in turn would boost CSF contributions to the SDGs and their targets. As a result, CSF or active support for CSF, focusing on the 10 CSF factors that favor success, can be linked to 48 unique SDG targets. The analysis suggests that there is a significant opportunity to explore win-win options for efforts to support CSF and contribute to SDGs, but also for efforts to pursue the SDGs and targets that favor CSF, which will in turn boost the contribution of CSF to the SDGs. The case of CSF and its feedback links with the SDGs suggests that it may be relevant to identify interactions between the SDGs and other socio-ecological realities and related research.

Intergrated Training Model of Business Skills for Kawedegan Farmers, Nganjuk-East Java Indonesia

This research is motivated by the living conditions of smallholder forestry land in Kawedegan, Balonggebang, Gondang District, Nganjuk that besides the level of education is low, and also they do not have a fixed income. Perhutani land peasant farming sweet potatoes and crops. The objective of this study is to find out a model of skills training in an integrated effort as empowering farming communities in developing entrepreneurship skills. The approach used in the study is an action research. Research model of integrated business skills training for farmers as community empowerment are implemented through two forms of activity in two years. In the first year, the researchers conducted a qualitative exploration, and in the second year it will be proceed by doing experimental design. This paper focuses on the discussion of exploratory study with exploring and collecting information about the needs of development, specifically in the context of economic development in dusun kawedegan which are still dominated by the agricultural sector. Villagers in Kawedegan hope that the function and role of microfinance institutions is a venture capital provider. One of the outputs of this activity is the formation of Microfinance Institutions (MFIs) to enhance ace finance for smallholder land PERHUTANI. Smallholder land PERHUTANI seeks funding support to start developing a business independently. On 1 September 2013, MFIs in the form of a credit union (CU) was established in Kawedegan, Balonggebang Village, Gondang District, Nganjuk East Java. Credit union is one of the methodologies to create effective economic empowerment of the people as well as to establish trust and mobilize the grassroots base to support rural development programme.

Productivity assessment of timber harvesting techniques for supporting sustainable forest management of secondary Atlantic Forests in southern Brazil

The Atlantic Forest in southern Brazil has been subject to overexploitation in the past prompting the formulation of a rigorous conservation orientated policy by the government including a strict ban of timber harvesting. In the region, the forestland is owned by farmers. The economic value of the forest is rather limited for those farmers, because of the prohibition of commercial timber harvesting as a source of income. Sustainable forest management systems can offer great potential as new income opportunities for land holders, and further actively support the process of ecosystem rehabilitation and protection for these ecosystems. Yet, successful implementation of such sustainable management systems requires feasible and adapted timber harvesting systems. In order to develop such harvesting systems, a regional comparative case study was conducted at a typical smallholder forestry venture with the objective to analyze and evaluate harvesting methods supporting sustainable management of the Atlantic Forest. This study assessed production rates and associated costs of a common conventional timber harvesting method (CM) and a proposed alternative method (AM). CM was performed by a selected, typical forest landowner who had only basic training in chainsaw operations, but 20 years of experience at the wood yard of his small sawmill. In contrast, the AM employed a professional chainsaw operator from the Amazon forest, trained and experienced in reduced impact logging techniques using state of the art equipment, supplemented by a snatch block and a skidding cone for improved extraction. Time study based models identified tree volume, winching distance and skidding distance to the landing as the most significant independent variables affecting productivity. Total net productivity ranged from 4.9 m³ PMH0-1 for CM to 3.1 m³ PMH0-1 for AM. Corresponding gross-productivity ranged from 3.0 m³ SMH-1 to 1.9 m³ SMH-1 with an overall mean utilization rate of 60.8 % and 60.9 %, respectively for CM and AM. Associated harvesting costs ranged from 12.05 € m-3 to 20.94 € m-3 with an estimated annual production of 4000 m³ and 2700 m³, respectively. Although AM showed overall lower productivity and higher costs, it represented an important improvement in terms of occupational health and safety. In conclusion, a suitable harvesting system should integrate local experiences of CM and proposed technical improvements of AM.

Hidden assets: Asia’s smallholder wood resources and their contribution to supply chains of commercial wood

ABSTRACTInfluenced by increasing population and prosperity, global wood needs are expected to treble by 2050, and an increased dependence on plantations will see demand for planted wood grow from 500 Mm3 to 1500 Mm3 over the next 30 years. Expansion of planted wood resources using conventional commercial plantation models is challenged in the crowded landscapes of Asia, where land tenure, access and ownership are ambiguous and it is unlikely that conventional plantations will be able to expand to meet demand.Forest assets managed by smallholder tree-farmers already make substantial contributions to national forest assets, wood production, exports and national incomes, and their role in wood production will become increasingly critical to meeting society’s needs. Benefits arising from the raw materials they produce are largely unrecognised in official statistics, partly because the many thousands of small stands of trees are widely scattered and flexibly managed by numerous tree-farmers as ‘living bank accounts’, being strongly influenced by emergency needs for immediate cash to satisfy family and social obligations.Using available data and credible assumptions, the probable contributions of smallholder assets to national economies and smallholder livelihoods have been calculated for acacias in Vietnam and eucalypts in Guangxi Province, China, along with smallholder contributions to commercial wood flows in several other Asian countries.More than 600 000 ha (equivalent) of unaccounted acacia smallholdings and informal plantings in Vietnam, annually produce more than 9 Mm3 of wood worth (as export woodchips) in excess of US$500 M. In Guangxi, commercial smallholder forest stands amount to about 800 000 ha of eucalypts, and produce in excess of 12 Mm3 of wood annually. This Chinese resource generates considerable employment and raw materials to industry worth over US$2.4 bn (bn; 1bn = 1 000 000 000) after local primary processing. In India, sales of commercial logs grown by smallholders add over US$700 M annually to rural economies and similar examples are offered for Lao PDR, Indonesia and Thailand.The numerous opportunities and impediments in smallholder forestry are discussed, with consequences for national policies. The role of traders within the forest products value chain is examined, and forest certification and the burden of compliance with complicated and onerous laws and regulations are discussed. Smallholder tree-farmers are entrepreneurs who expect their investments in smallholdings to produce financial (and other) benefits. Collectively, they represent multi-billion-dollar regional businesses, increasing incomes for many millions of households and creating significant national assets. To succeed, smallholder tree-farmers need the conditions summarised in 2001 as Byron’s ‘Four Keys’: (i) clear ownership of trees; (ii) reliable markets; (iii) sympathetic legal and regulatory frameworks; and (iv) a robust package of technical options. Reliable value chains and risk mitigation are important issues, and severe impediments in any of the ’Four Keys’ jeopardise the efficiency and effectiveness of the forest products value chain, the livelihoods and financial sustainability of the smallholder tree-farmers, and their substantial contributions to national productivity and forest assets.

Incentives and Constraints of Community and Smallholder Forestry

This editorial introduces the special issue: Incentives and constraints of community and smallholder forestry. The special issue contains nine papers, listed in a table in the main text. The editorial reviews briefly some key elements of our current understanding of community and smallholder forestry. The editorial also briefly introduces the nine papers of the special issue and points out how they link to the debate among academics and specialists on community and smallholder forestry. Finally, the editorial highlights the new elements that the nine papers contribute to our understanding of community and smallholder forestry, before it concludes at the end.

Smallholder Forestry in the Western Amazon: Outcomes from Forest Reforms and Emerging Policy Perspectives

The forest reforms unfolding during the last two decades in the western Amazon have embraced policy regimes founded on the principles of sustainable forest management. The policy frameworks adopted for smallholder forestry aimed to clarify forest rights including those of the indigenous people and smallholders, support the adoption of sustainable forest management and put a system in place to assure a legal timber supply. The emerging forest policy regimes have significantly shaped who has access to the forest, how the forest resources are used and the benefits that are utilized. We argue that forest reforms have not addressed some critical constraints facing smallholders in managing their forests either individually or collectively. Informal timber extraction persists with contradictory effects on smallholders and forests. Local participants continue to make a significant contribution in meeting a growing demand for timber through vigorous market networks that combine legal and illegal sources of timber supply. Some recent changes to forest policy frameworks emphasize approaches towards additional integrated forest management, simplification of regulations and incentives for improved forest management. We critically reflect on the scope, implementation and expected outcomes of these policy frameworks.

Timber Regulation and Value Chain in Community-Based Timber Enterprise and Smallholder Forestry in the Philippines

Forest tenure reform has no doubt attained significant gains in promoting social justice and equity in the forest sector, through legal recognition of the communities’ property rights over forest lands in many developing countries. This includes the right to harvest and market trees that the communities planted. Along these lines, the Philippines’ community-based forest management (CBFM) and smallholder forestry have the potential to meet the country’s wood demand and contribute to its poverty alleviation goal. Realities on the ground, however, make this lofty aspiration seems too far-fetched. Formal and informal barriers along the timber value chain restrict the growth and obstruct opportunities for community-based timber enterprises (CBTEs) and smallholder forestry. Using the case of CBFM and smallholder forestry in the Visayas and Mindanao Islands in the Philippines, respectively, this paper examines the hurdles posed by regulations and informal practices, such as restrictive policies and increased transaction costs, through a segment analysis of the timber value chain. It argues that failure to address these barriers would lead to the decline of CBTEs and smallholder enterprises, thus undermining the merits of the forest tenure reform.

Multi-species and multifunctional smallholder tree farming systems in Southeast Asia: timber, NTFPs, plus environmental benefits

The rapid increase in human population, and the corresponding worldwide enhancement of social and economical conditions, are exerting a considerable pressure to convert forests to other uses. Moreover, these phenomena raise the demand for food, fuel, wood fibers and other non-wood products, contributing to a further boost of the production pressure in the surviving forests. Simultaneously, these forests are expected to provide a diverse array of environmental services. Furthermore, smallholder forestry systems are prominent components of ‘ trees outside the forest’ in Southeast Asia and they are primarily ‘planted’ systems that rehabilitate or reforest marginal lands, in order to produce tree products and services. As they traditionally are a means of producing goods for home consumption, they have become significant suppliers of products for local, national and international markets. The aim of this paper is to demonstrate that smallholder forestry systems are a viable management system which is significantly contributing to global environmental goals and local economic objectives. This paper reviews global and Asian trends of human population growth, deforestation, and demand for forest and tree products. The origin, the diversity, the adaptable management and the importance of smallholder tree-based systems are here discussed and significant details are provided on the role of smallholder tree-based systems in the mitigation of deforestation, which could be obtained by expanding regional forest resources; in supplying alternative sources of forest products and environmental benefits; and in making significant contributions to local livelihoods for rural communities.

What is the available evidence concerning relative performance of different designs of mixed-species plantings for smallholder and community forestry in the tropics? A systematic map protocol

There has been growing interest in mixed species plantation systems because of their potential to provide a range of socio-economic and bio-physical benefits which can be matched to the diverse needs of smallholders and communities. Potential benefits include the production of a range of forest products for home and commercial use; improved soil fertility especially when nitrogen fixing species are included; improved survival rates and greater productivity of species; a reduction in the amount of damage from pests or disease; and improved biodiversity and wildlife habitats. Despite these documented services and growing interest in mixed species plantation systems, the actual planting areas in the tropics are low, and monocultures are still preferred for industrial plantings and many reforestation programs because of perceived higher economic returns and readily available information about the species and their silviculture. In contrast, there are few guidelines for the design and management of mixed-species systems, including the social and ecological factors of successful mixed species plantings. This protocol explains the methodology used to investigate the following question: What is the available evidence for the relative performance of different designs of mixed-species plantings for smallholder and community forestry in the tropics? This study will systematically search, identify and describe studies related to mixed species plantings across tropical and temperate zones to identify the social and ecological factors that affect polyculture systems. The objectives of this study are first to identify the evidence of biophysical or socio-economic factors that have been considered when designing mixed species systems for community and smallholder forestry in the tropics; and second, to identify gaps in research of mixed species plantations. Results of the study will help create guidelines that can assist practitioners, scientists and farmers to better design mixed species plantation systems for smallholders in the tropics.